[Drink inside the box.]
Lungarotti Torre di Giano 2023
Lungarotti Torre di Giano 2023 Price: $17.95Channel: LCBO Vintages Producer: LungarottiCountry: ItalyRegion: UmbriaAppellation: Torgiano DOC Grapes: Vermentino, Grechetto, Trebbiano (% not revealed)Alcohol by Volume: 12.5%Sugar Content: 2 grams per litre I’ve been to Umbria a handful of times. Only once on a press trip, but it was for olive oil not wine. So, in my travels to Italy’s only landlocked region I have largely been in charge of ordering the wine. I cannot recall ever getting a bottle or…
Château Le Grand Verdus GlouGlou 2020
Château Le Grand Verdus GlouGlou 2020 Price: $15.95 (reduced from $17.95)Channel: LCBO Vintages Producer: Château Le Grand VerdusCountry: FranceRegion: Bordeaux (Entre-deux-Mers)Appellation: Bordeaux Supériore AOC Grapes: Merlot (80%), Cabernet Sauvignon (20%)Alcohol by Volume: 13.5%Sugar Content: 3 grams per litre I don’t know how I missed this wine when it was released a few onths ago, and I don’t why it hasn’t sold out. It’s delicious, very fairly priced (even before the discount), and from one of the world’s most famous…
Kelerei Bozen Pinot Grigio 2023
Kelerei Bozen Pinot Grigio 2023 Price: $21.95Channel: LCBO Vintages Producer: Kellerei Bozen (Cantina Produttori Bolzano)Country: ItalyRegion: Alto Adige (Südtirol)Appellation: Alto Adige DOC Grapes: Pinot GrigioAlcohol by Volume: 13.5%Sugar Content: 4 grams per litre The Kellerei Bozen is among the vanguard of Western Europe’s new wave of serious co-operative wineries. It’s members literally grow their grapes on the slopes that form the valleys surrounding Bolzano and they intend to compete with the fine producers that have made the Alto-Adige one…
Argiolas Perdera Monica di Sardegna 2022
Argiolas Perdera Monica di Sardegna 2022 Price: $21.95Channel: LCBO Vintages Producer: ArgiolasCountry: ItalyRegion: SardiniaAppellation: Monica di Sardegna DOC Grapes: MonicaAlcohol by Volume: 13.5%Sugar Content: 3 grams per litre The wine media has not been uniformly kind to Sardinia’s second red grape. The entry for Monica Nera in Robinson, Harding and Vouillamoz’s encyclopedic Wine Grapes (2012) is headlined “Generally undistinguished dark-skinned variety…”. To be fair, it goes onto suggest that the biggest trouble with Monica might be the tenedecy to grow it…
Château Gaillard Beaujolais-Villages 2023
Château Gaillard Beaujolais-Villages 2023 Price: $19.95Channel: LCBO Vintages Producer: Sébastien Gutty / Château GaillardCountry: FranceRegion: BeaujolaisAppellation: Beaujolais Villages Grapes: GamayAlcohol by Volume: 12%Sugar Content: 2 grams per litre Graphite is not water soluable, so it has no taste. Therefore it’s not right for me to say that the 2023 Gaillard Beaujolais Villages has a graphite finish, let alone a graphite finish that I associate more with the Cabernet Franc made wines from the Loire Valley than Gamay made Beaujolais.…
Jean Perrier et Fils Cuvée Gastronomie Chignin 2023
Jean Perrier et Fils Cuvée Gastronomie Chignin 2023 Price: $19.95Channel: LCBO Vintages Producer: Vins PerrierCountry: FranceRegion: SavoieAppellation: Chignin, Savoie AOC Grapes: JacquèreAlcohol by Volume: 11.5%Sugar Content: 2 grams per litre It’s not until I looked up the tech sheet for the Perrier Chignin that I realized it measures in at only 11.5% alcohol by volume. I would have guess much higher, but not becuase it’s in any way hot or out of balance. The opposite is the case: this…
Castelo di Radda Chianti Classico 2021
Castelo di Radda Chianti Classico 2021 Price: $22.95Channel: LCBO Vintages Producer: Castelo di RaddaCountry: ItalyRegion: TuscanyAppellation: Chianti Classico DOCG (UAG Radda) Grapes: Sangiovese (95%), CanaioloAlcohol by Volume: 14%Sugar Content: N/A – drinks very dry This wine wants grilled steak. Or rather, grilled steak wants this wine. Grilled mushrooms also want this wine. The Sangiovese that makes this wine is grown at 400 meters above sea level, and expresses a fresh red fruit character with a lively acidity a touch…
Reyneke Organic Chenin Blanc 2024
Reyneke Organic Chenin Blanc 2024 Price: $21.95Channel: LCBO Vintages Producer: ReynekeCountry: South AfricaRegion: StellenboschAppellation: Western Cape WO Grapes: Chenin BlancAlcohol by Volume: 13.5%Sugar Content: 4 grams per litre Philosopher winemaker Johan Reyneke’s “Organic” line sources grapes from outside of his biodynamic farm. In this case, we are told from a site under the cooling influence of the South Atlantic ocean. In any event, here is fresh and elegant fancy white wine for just a bit over $20, proving that…
Brotte Création Grosset Cairanne 2021
Brotte Création Grosset Cairanne 2021 Price: $19.95Channel: LCBO Vintages Producer: Maison BrotteCountry: FranceRegion: Provence (Rhône)Appellation: Cairrane AOC Grapes: Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèrdre, CarignanAlcohol by Volume: 14.5%Sugar Content: 3 grams per litre The Brotte family hails from Châteuneuf-du-Pape. The Grosset vineyard, if my French literacy is assez fonctionnel, was acquired relatively recently through marriage of the current, 4th generation, vigneron. New though the Grosset parcels may be to the family, they include about 60 acres of 100 year old Grenache vines. I…
Bertani Sereole Soave Classico 2023
Bertani Sereole Soave Classico 2023 Price: $19.95Channel: LCBO Vintages Producer: BertaniCountry: ItalyRegion: Veneto (Verona)Appellation: Soave Classico Grapes: GarganegaAlcohol by Volume: 13%Sugar Content: 3 grams per litre With the rehabilitation of Soave as a serious white wine has come the inevitable price increases. This, in turn, has fostered in me some scepticism towards any bottle of Soave I see for under $20. The 2023 Sereole Soave Classico has restored my faith that there is still perfectly delicious, affordable, every day…
M. Chapoutier La Ciboise Luberon 2022
M. Chapoutier La Ciboise Luberon 2022 Price: $14.95Channel: LCBO Vintages Producer: M. ChapoutierCountry: FranceRegion: ProvenceAppellation: Luberon AOC Grapes: Grenache and Syrah (%NA)Alcohol by Volume: 14.5%Sugar Content: 3 grams per litre Chapoutier doesn’t reveal the precentage split between Grenache and Syrah in La Ciboise. My guess is it’s close to 50-50: look for cherry, then blackfruit and a touch of white pepper. It’s long way from L’Hermitage to the Luberon, and this is a rich and juicy wine, with silky…
Hatzimichalis Alepotrypa Assyrtiko 2023
Hatzimichalis Alepotrypa Assyrtiko 2023 Price: $18.95Channel: LCBO Vintages Producer: Domaine HatzimichalisCountry: GreeceRegion: Atalanti ValleyAppellation: Atalanti Valley PGI Grapes: AssyrtikoAlcohol by Volume: 14%Sugar Content: 2 grams per litre Here is a sophisticated white from the middle of Greece at a very welcoming price. Assyrtiko is best known as the white grape from the windswept volcanic island of Santorini, where it tends to make very lean mineral whites. This Hatzimichal version shows a reserved richness, with citrus acidity and a bit…